covetousness

[ kuhv-i-tuhs-nis ]

noun

1. eager or excessive desire, especially for wealth or possessions:

   Social media so often encourages us to compare ourselves to others, inspiring covetousness and insecurity.

Other Words From

• non·cov·et·ous·ness noun
• o·ver·cov·et·ous·ness noun
• un·cov·et·ous·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of covetousness¹

covetous ( def ) + -ness ( def )

Example Sentences

Russia's covetousness toward Ukraine differs somewhat from its other colonization activities, but comes from the same underlying desire to subjugate.

From Salon

“Certainly. Go, dear, I forgot that you have any home but this,” and Mrs. March pressed the white hand that wore the wedding ring, as if asking pardon for her maternal covetousness.

From Literature

One year I cheated by pooling my group with my younger sister’s, guilty of the sin of covetousness.

From New York Times

The covetousness is conspicuous in the new thriller “Envy: A Seven Deadly Sins Story.”

From Los Angeles Times

Jean-Jacques Rousseau denounced fashion as a threat to moral society — an incitement to desire and covetousness, writing that finery is a “stranger to virtue.”

From New York Times